Prof. Kondō, Haruko and conservators view the Harimaze Byōbu at the beginning of the preservation project two years ago.
One of the documents bearing the personal mark (花押) of the Buddhist priest Chōgen (重源, 1121-1206).
The Harimaze Byōbu before preservation work began.
The backing (hogoshi) of the historical documents pasted on the screen turned out to be the manuscripts of Dai Nihon Shiryō from Genna 2-nen (1616).
The Harimaze Byōbu before preservation work began.
The Harimaze Byōbu before preservation work began.
The restored manuscripts of Dai Nihon Shiryō.
Haruko Nakamura (left) and Takashima Akihiko (right) examine one of the manuscripts removed from the byōbu at the lab.
The verso of the restored document
A document removed from the Byōbu
As students and faculty return to campus for the fall term, a set of historical materials from Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library will also be making their homecoming: Harimaze Byōbu, a set of hand-written documents originally housed on two folding screens that span the history of Japan between the 12th and 18th centuries.
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